


Coffee fix

by 123Fanfics



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 16:12:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16140827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123Fanfics/pseuds/123Fanfics
Summary: Phillip needs a change of scenery for inspiration, and gets more than he bargained for when he walks into the local coffee shop.





	Coffee fix

**Author's Note:**

> Just a cute little one-shot as I love these two and there's not enough fanfics about them :)

Phillip enters the coffee shop with a sigh of relief. He’s already tired at eleven o’clock, and the smell of coffee is comforting. He joins the long line and looks down to see why it was unusually long. He feels a sense of sympathy when he realises only two people are working, and with the weather being as hot as it was that day; everyone wanted a cold drink. But what he doesn’t expect to find is the girl behind the counter showing no signs of stress or pressure. Instead, she greets every customer with a smile and even from afar Phillip’s heart warms at the sight. Her brunette curls are piled on top of her head in a bun, but some have fallen out to frame her face. Phillip is immediately entranced, and almost forgets to move forward in the line. He eventually reaches the front, and that same smile he saw is brighter and more perfect up front.

“Good morning, what can I get you?” The woman asks, and Phillip suddenly cannot remember what he wanted.

“Black americano please. Triple” he finally replies.

“Ooh rough morning?” She asks as a she starts writing the ticket out for his mug.

“Could say that” he chuckles, and a glint of something flashes in the young girl’s eyes.

“Can I take a name?” She questions, but there is something different in her voice. Like her mouth is running on autopilot and her mind is elsewhere.

“Phillip” he grins at her and he could have sworn he saw a blush creep on her cheeks before she turns away to place the mug by the machine.

“That will be three dollars please” she says, and Phillip swipes his card before looking down at her name badge.

“Thanks, Anne” he smiles one more time before moving to the side to wait for his coffee. He watches Anne as she serves two more people before moving to make all the coffee orders while passing the cold drink orders to her colleague. Phillip looks on in amazement as Anne completes five coffee orders in no time, and before he knows it she’s calling his name. He goes to grab the mug and notices she has left the ticket on; causing him to smirk when he sees his name.

“Everything ok?” Anne asks, worried she’s given him the wrong drink.

“Yeah, just most people forget the second ‘L’” he gestures to the ticket.

“Well I’m not most people” Anne comments with an almost seductive smile before continuing.

“Want me to take it?” She holds her hand out, and Phillip has to hold himself back from taking it in his own and planting a kiss on it.

“Nah I’ll get rid of it. Thanks again” he smiles yet again. Phillip cannot seem to stop himself from smiling when he’s looking at her. He turns around and finds a table in the back corner. He pulls his laptop out and gets started on continuing his latest piece of work.

 

“Did you just flirt with him?” Anne’s colleague Constantine asks, the humour evident in his voice.

“What? No” Anne shrugs it off, but her cheeks are burning with embarrassment. What came over her? She never acts like that, especially at work. But this ‘Phillip’ is different, there is something about him that Anne cannot place.

“’I’m not most people’. Sounded like I’d just tuned into a bad rom-com” Constantine teases, earning a shove from the brunette before she carries on serving customers. ‘Barnum’s Coffee’ is always thriving, and Anne probably spends more time in the shop than out of it. But P.T and Charity have always been caring owners, so Anne doesn’t mind the extra work every now and then. Especially when attractive men like the one sitting in the back corner walk in.

\--------

The day goes on and both Phillip and Anne steal glances at each other from across the room; Phillip smirking and Anne blushing if either got caught. At around two o’clock Phillip starts to panic when Anne leaves through the back door and doesn’t return. Has he missed his chance? He was so caught up in his work and the order line never seemed to decrease, there was never a chance for Phillip to approach the barista unless it was for a drink. However, forty-five minutes later, Anne returns back behind the counter; causing Phillip’s shoulders to relax. He notices that the man that was with her earlier has been replaced by a woman, who Anne greets with a huge smile and a hug. Clearly, they’re more friends than work colleagues, and Phillip smiles at the sight of Anne laughing with the larger woman.

It’s nearly three-thirty when Anne approaches Phillip’s table with a mug of coffee in her hand.

“You’ve been frowning at your screen since you sat down, I figured you could use a pick-me-up” she shyly smiles as she places the mug down and takes his empty one away.

“You read my mind, thank-you” Phillip replies, reaching for his pocket.

“No, it’s on me” she says, placing her hand on top of Phillip’s when he continues to open his wallet. Cliché as it may sound, but there were definitely sparks when their fingertips touched; a feeling both Anne nor Phillip have ever experienced. He looks up into her eyes; blue on brown, and Phillip knows he’s done for.

“Well I very much appreciate it. Thank-you” Anne goes to leave after that, but Phillip doesn’t want the moment to end. He quickly looks behind her and there’s only two people in the line, so there’s no need for her to be there as well as her colleague.

“How come your colleague went home and you haven’t?” He asks. Anne turns back around and gives a little smile; one that suggests it’s not a gesture that mirrors her true feelings.

“The other girl called in sick. We flipped a coin to see who would cover her; I lost” she shrugs, as if it’s no big deal.

“It’s more money I suppose” she continues, pulling out a cleaning rag and wipes the table next to them down.

“Yeah I guess that’s an advantage” he chuckles.

“What about you? What’s got you frowning so hard at that” she nods towards his laptop as she moves to another table; staying in close earshot.

“Oh erm… bit of a writers block. Thought leaving my house would give me a bit of inspiration” he admits, the shy smile suddenly appearing on his face. Anne looks over and the sight is endearing, and it makes her smile and bite her lip.

“You’re a writer? What kind?” She asks, intrigued by this handsome man’s career choice.

“I kind of dabble between screenplays and fiction novels” he replies, and frowns slightly when Anne’s eyes light up.

“Wait, Phillip Carlyle? The play that’s showing about seven blocks from here is yours?”

“That’s the one. Take it you’ve seen it?” He questions, and is slightly disappointed when Anne shakes her head.

“Unfortunately not. I pass it on my way home and admire it from afar. Maybe one day though” she answers.

“I could get you a ticket. It would be no bother” Phillip blurts out before he could even register what he was saying.

“Oh that’s awfully kind, but I couldn’t accept. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it” she smiles again and quickly takes off before Phillip can reply. Anne returns behind the counter, and Lettie is on her like a hawk.

“Erm what was that?” She asks immediately.

“Nothing. Just chatting with a customer, is that so wrong?” She tries to brush it off, but it’s no use with Lettie. She’s as persistent as they come, and nothing is safe with her.

“An incredibly good-looking customer who has not stopped looking at you since you walked away from him. I saw the smiles you were giving him and Constantine filled me in on your awful chat up line this morning” she teases, laughing when Anne throws her head back with a groan.

“I’m gunna kill him. It was nothing. Besides, have you seen me? There’s no way he’d be into me” she puts herself down in typical Anne style and Lettie just rolls her eyes.

“You underestimate yourself, kiddo. A guy does not look at you the way he’s looking at you now just for a free coffee” she winks at her colleague before serving a customer. Anne sighs as she looks over at him, admiring him from afar just like his play. His ocean blue eyes are fixed on his screen, even when he lifts his coffee mug up to take a sip. She watches his lips closely, and can’t help but imagine what they would feel like against hers. He runs his hand through his sleek black hair vigorously, and Anne has to bite her lip and turn away in order to control herself. But when she does that, she’s met with the biggest smirk worn by her colleague turned mentor.

“That. Was priceless” Lettie laughs as she hands over a ticket for a drink order.

“You suck” Anne mutters as she walks to the coffee machine and starts heating the milk up for the latte she has on order.

\--------

Throughout the evening Phillip and Anne continue to make eyes with each other, and Anne makes any excuse she can think of to walk over near his table. And when Lettie goes on her break and Anne has no customers, Phillip approaches the counter and makes further conversation. Both of them are clearly into each other, yet neither makes a move to take things further; which sends Lettie into action. When Anne goes on her second break, Lettie grabs an empty takeaway cup and scribbles a note on it before placing a lid on top and heading over to Phillip’s table.

“Here’s that tea you ordered” she says with a wink and walks off. Phillip picks it up and is just about to argue that this is not for him when he realises the cup is empty, and the note is Anne’s mobile number.

“Thank-you, just what I need” he calls over, and Lettie can’t help but laugh.

“I couldn’t agree more” she replies before cleaning the surfaces down. Phillip quickly gets up and grabs a cup sleeve so Anne doesn’t see it if she comes back over; which he hopes she does. He’s barely completed any work today, but the distraction has been welcoming and worth the setback in progression. However when it hits seven o’clock, Phillip knows he has to head back home. He begrudgingly packs his belongings away and grabs his ‘tea’ before making his way up to the counter.

“I’m sure I’ll see you ladies soon, thanks for everything” he addresses both Anne and Lettie, but the older woman knows he’s clearly talking to Anne.

“No problem, take care Phillip” she smiles brightly at him and watches him walk out.

“You know what? I got this, you get off” Lettie offers.

“What do you mean? We’ve got thirty minutes”

“Exactly, I can handle it.. You head home, and maybe walk into that guy on the way yeah?” She hints, wiping down a counter to avoid eye contact.

“You sure? I’ll happily stay” Anne offers, all the while untying her apron.

“Yeah, looks like it. Just get out of here and catch up with him. See you tomorrow” Lettie offers her a big grin and laughs as she watches Anne run out the back to grab her bag.

“Night Lettie!” She calls over her shoulder, halfway out the door. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to walk far, as Phillip is still outside the coffee shop on his phone.

“I’ll call you back later” he hangs up and grins as he walks over to Anne.

“Hey, heading home?” He asks, chuckling slightly when a startled Anne turns his way.

“Hey, erm yeah Lettie let me go home a little bit early. You still here?” She responds, slowly walking home. Phillip follows her obligingly, keeping in step with her.

“Yeah, got caught on a call” he rolls his eyes and Anne giggles slightly. The evening is still fairly warm, with a welcoming breeze every so often.

“Do you live this way then?” Anne asks.

“Not exactly, but I would like to walk you home, if that’s ok with you? And besides, I should really pop in and see how the play is doing” he chuckles, and smirks when he notices a blush creep on Anne’s cheeks.

“I could do with the company” she replies.

“So have you always lived in the city? I couldn’t help but notice a southern tone to your voice” Phillip starts the conversation, and that southern tone is what first got him hooked. It made her words sweeter, like they were dosed in honey, and it caused Phillip’s stomach to do backflips.

“You’re right there. My brother moved to the city for school, and I fell in love with the place so I done the same when I could. I’m originally from New Orleans” Anne explains, looking around the city in awe as she done so.

“What about you?” She continues.

“Yeah, born and bred here. I used to live uptown with my parents, but the older I got the more I knew that life wasn’t for me. It was suffocating, and it had so many rules. So I went against my dad’s dream of me taking over the family business, changed my major to creative writing and moved down here. They weren’t exactly thrilled but…” He trails off, and ends his sentence with a small shrug.

“You need to make yourself happy, not them. That should be the only thing that matters” Anne tries to justify his actions, seeing the hurt in his eyes when he talks about letting his parents down.

“Yeah I guess” Phillip turns to look at her with a soft smile, making Anne’s heart flutter in her chest.

“So you said you had a brother. You guys close?” He changes the subject, wanting to find out everything he could about Anne before they reached her place.

“Yeah we are. He’s four years older than me which I think helps slightly. But we live together, and we only wanna kill each other about once a month so I think that’s good going” she giggles, setting off an automatic laugh in Phillip.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“No, just me unfortunately. But I always wanted a sibling, preferably younger so I could tease them” he smirks.

“You don’t always have to be older to tease your siblings ya’know. I used to drive W.D crazy” Anne grins with accomplishment.

“Hmm I can imagine that” he grins, but the grin fades quickly when he realise Anne has come to a halt outside an apartment building.

“Well this is me. Did you want me to throw that cup away? You’ve been holding it like your life depends on it” she jokes.

“Oh it does” Phillip replies, a jokey tone to his voice, but Anne can also tell he’s being somewhat serious.

“What’s on it?” She probes.

“Nothing” Phillip replies too quickly, causing Anne’s eyebrow to raise.

“I can see writing on the top and bottom of that sleeve, there’s more than a name on it. Show me” she demands, and Phillip can’t help but think how sexy she looks when she’s standing there with her arms crossed and her right eyebrow lifted. Sensing his distraction, Anne quickly takes the cup from his grasp, ignoring the slight shock she gets from their skin touching and removes the sleeve.

“Damnit Lettie” she curses under her breath when she sees her number written in black sharpie.

“She was just being a helpful person” Phillip stands up for the other barista, hoping Anne isn’t too mad and in fact doesn’t want him to have her number.

“Am I ok to have it back? You can say no, it’s fine” he asks, but leaves the option for Anne to decide. He may have been reading it wrong, and she may have just been doing her job. But he can’t help but feel there was something more. He lets out a small sigh of relief when she hands the cup back, a shy and gorgeous smile gracing her lips.

“Thanks for walking me home, I really appreciate it” 

“Of course. Goodnight Anne” he takes his chance and quickly leans in, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. He pulls away and holds back his laughter when once again Anne’s cheeks turn a crimson red. He starts walking away, but swivels back when his name gets called

“Look after that cup yeah?” She calls after him, and his smile could light up the entire city.

“With my life” he clutches it to his chest and turns back around, the smile never leaving his face.

Anne watches the retreating figure a little longer before it turns the corner and out of sight.

“Thank god I lost that coin toss”.


End file.
